a port town of Picardy in France, about 44 miles south of Calais, and 27 north-west of Abbeville, remarkable on account of the victory obtained there over the French by Edward III. of England, in the year 1346. E. Long. 2° O. N. Lat. 50° 20'.

Edward having encountered and overcome many difficulties in his expedition, was at last so closely followed and harassed by the French army, commanded by the king of France in person, that he determined to make a stand at this place, and to give his pursuers a check. For this purpose he chose his ground with great judgment, on the gentle declivity of a hill, with a thick wood in his rear. He ordered deep entrenchments to be made on each flank, and waited with firmness the approach of his enemies. The king of France, dreading nothing so much as the escape of the English, began the march of his great army from Abbeville early in the morning, August 26, and continued it several hours with great eagerness, till he received intelligence that the English had halted at Cressy, and were prepared to give him battle. He was advised at the same time not to engage that day, when his troops were much fatigued with their march, and in great disorder; and he was disposed to have taken this advice. But the discipline of these times was so imperfect, that the orders given for halting were not obeyed; and one corps of this mighty host impelling another, they continued advancing till they came into the presence of their enemies in much confusion.

Edward had employed the forenoon of this important day in drawing up his army in the most excellent order, in three lines. The first line, which consisted of 800 men at arms, 4000 English archers, and 600 Welsh foot, was commanded by his young, amiable, and heroic son, the prince of Wales, assisted by the earls of Warwick and Oxford, and several other noblemen. The second line, composed of 800 men at arms, 4000 halberdiers, and 2400 archers, was led by the earls of Arundel and Northampton; the last line or body of reserve, in which were 700 men at arms, 5300 billmen, and 6000 archers, was ranged along the summit of the hill, and conducted by the king in person, attended by the lords Mowbray, Mortimer, and others. When the army was completely formed, Edward rode along the lines, and by his words and looks inspired his troops with the most ardent courage and strongest hopes of victory. He then commanded the cavalry to dismount, and the whole army to sit down upon the grass, in their ranks, and refresh themselves with meat, drink, and rest. As soon as the French army came in view, they sprung from the ground, full of strength and spirit, and stood ready to receive them.

The king of France, assisted by the kings of Bohemia and Majorca, the dukes of Lorraine and Savoy, and several other sovereign princes, with the flower of the French nobility, laboured to restore some degree of of order to his prodigious army, and drew it up also in three lines, but very indistinctly formed. The first line was commanded in chief by the king of Bohemia; the second by the earl of Alençon, the king of France's brother; and the third by Philip in person; and each of these lines contained a greater number of troops than the whole English army.

The battle of Creully was begun about three o'clock in the afternoon, August 26, by a great body of Genoese cross-bowmen, in the French service, who let fly their quarrels at too great a distance to do any execution, and were presently routed by a shower of arrows from the English archers. The earl of Alençon, after trampling to death many of the flying Genoese, advanced to the charge, and made a furious attack on that corps commanded by the prince of Wales. The earls of Arundel and Northampton advanced with the second line to sustain the prince, and Alençon was supported by as many troops as could crowd to his assistance. Here the battle raged for some time with uncommon fury; and the earl of Warwick anxious for the fate of the day and the safety of the prince, sent a messenger to the king, entreating him to advance with the third line. Edward, who had taken his stand on a wind-mill on the top of the hill, from whence he had a full view of both armies, asked the messenger, if his son was unhorsed, or wounded, or killed? and being answered, that the prince was unhurt, and performed prodigies of valour, "Go then," said he, "and tell my son and his brave companions, that I will not deprive them of any part of the glory of their victory." This flattering message being made known, inspired the prince and his troops with redoubled ardour; and the king of Bohemia, the earl of Alençon, and many other great men, being slain, the whole first and second lines of the French army were put to flight. Philip, undismayed at the slaughter of his troops, and the fall of so many princes, advanced to the charge with the line under his immediate command. But this body soon shared the same fate with the other two; and Philip, after having been unhorsed, and wounded in the neck and thigh, was carried off the field by John de Hainault, and fled with no more than five knights and about 60 soldiers in his company, of all his mighty army, which at the beginning of the battle consisted of more than 120,000 men. Such was the famous victory of Creully, the greatest ever gained by any king of England. After the battle, the king flew into the arms of the prince of Wales, and grasping him to his bosom, cried in an ecstacy of joy, "My dear son, you have this day showed yourself worthy of the knighthood which you lately received, and of the crown for which you have so bravely fought; persevere in your honourable course." The prince, as modest as he was brave, sunk down on his knees, his face covered with blushes, and begged his father's blessing. Edward continued with his army at Creully three days, employed in numbering and burying the dead. The French had left on this bloody scene the king of Bohemia, 11 other princes, 80 bannerets, 1200 knights, 1500 gentlemen, 4000 men at arms, and 30,000 other soldiers.